Our temps are heading to the basement tonight. We maybe got 1-2” of snow from yesterday’s storm – hardly enough to get the tractor out to move it. Joy – I’ll bet you got plenty of snow, didn’t you?
Reader quilts













PLEASE tell me if I miss your quilt – I’ve received so many pet pictures that I could have missed your quilt!
And here’s my take on panels. I have three outdoor quilt hangers that are about 26” wide and I like to hang seasonal quilts on each of them. I buy panels to hang outside because they’re so cute and yet I want to piece my quilts. I practice on panels because usually after one season outdoors they’re faded and ready for the trash. I practice machine quilting and different bindings on panels that hang outside. Here’s one I just finished and I bungled the binding so bad at the top! Not to worry – that’s the edge that fits in the hanger and with a big bump there, I know it won’t come out. Haha! Nobody will see it from the road, will they?

I’m pretty leery of posting anything original here on the blog after the Bullseye debacle but I am working on a couple things. Nothing as original as Bullseye, of course – all public domain blocks.
A couple of quotes from readers:
Spell check is the enemy of the educated mind! Carol
Never get dressed in the dark. Dorothy
One way to prevent conversation from being boring is to say the wrong thing. Frank Sheed via Carol T.
I literally have to jot down notes so I don’t forget to post things. More coming. Tomorrow is $5 Friday and tonight I’m just finishing the binding.
Talk tomorrow!
Great quilts again today. We are due 10-12 inches of snow here in my area of No California but so far it has just been melting. We will see.
I use panels for backing my throw quilts. Nice little surprise on the back of the quilt.
Brenda – oh , that’s a great idea! I will do that, too.
Brenda – I love that idea!
Hi Mary, lovely to see the clothes line full of quilts, l love washing drying in the fresh air. Bought some paw patrol fabric today for Luna, she wants a princess dress and l will put interchangeable pictures of the paw patrol animals on the front, should keep her happy! Hope you don’t get too much snow, best wishes from Sandy
Sandy – oh, how sweet ! Luna wants a Paw Patrol dress! Be sure to let us see it.
Hi Mary – what email should I use yo send you pics of my quilts? Thanks.
Susan – my email is listed on our home page – always.
maryehazel2020@gmail.com
Thanks Mary!!
The quilt shows lately has been delightful. Thanks to all.
We are cold, with a capital C. Lots of snow, shoveling and warm soup.
Spring is a few weeks away, day light saving time is 2 weeks away…it always seems like the weather changes then. Well I hope so, we have had a brutal winter.
Jo – I agree – this has been the endless winter.
any good advice on hanging quilts in the Fellowship Hall?
Some would be given away later, one we will keep.
Roberta – what kind of wall are you hanging the quilts on?
We got about 5 inches of snow this morning. Woke up to a couple and about 3 more were added during the morning hours. Then, after lunch the sun came out and melted lots of it, Trouble is, tonight is supposed to be the coldest we have had in years. Br-r-r is right!!
The quilts are fantastic. What a great group of quilters your readers are.
I love panels, too. I usually make pieced borders for them, but I like the idea of using them for backings.
Keep warm, everyone. I am going now to put an extra quilt on my bed.
Wow! Beautiful quilts today!
Carla from MI, I especially like your “I Spy” quilt or “Conversation Quilt”. It is wonderful.
Thanks for posting, Mary. Stay Warm, 🥰
Love the colors in all the quilts. The quilt by Jean Ruger is a beautiful blend and the design highlights each piece/color. And all those quilts on the clothesline…wow! Plus I see green lawn in several pictures. Yearning for that at my house. Sigh.
Vicki – I commented on the green grass, too! So looking forward to mowing again.
We didn’t get snow but 3″ of rain! What a dreary, gloomy day!! Happy stitching!
Brenda, thank you for the great idea of using panels on the back of quilts! I’ve avoided getting panels I love because I have a hard time finding time to quilt much less dress up a darling panel but using them as backing would be a treat and may not be as expensive as buying all yardage for the backs.
Loved the quilt show today. I want to go to the show with the quilts on the clothes lines, look at the green grass and sunshine! It’s 6 degrees at the farm this morning, the cold radiated off the dogs when they came in from morning potty. And our snow and ice warmed up just enough yesterday to turn everything to ice crust on top of the snow again so I guess I’ll ice skate to the barn. The weather is so freaky my son in Long Beach California sent me a picture of the ice balls on his grass yesterday! I told him he can never escape his roots of snowy Michigan. And my son in Durham North Carolina sent the weather screen that listed his weather as 80 yesterday. My sisters in Louisville have magnolias and daffodils blooming!
Linda – sounds like your kids are spread far and wide ….. from MI – CA to NC! And ice balls on grass in CA? What’s with our weather? I need to find time to write you a long email – maybe today. I haven’t done chores yet either but since it’s so cold everybody is locked up in the cozy barn with heat. Yes, my dogs pottied and came right back in. My niece lives in Louisville and is enjoying much nicer weather than us.
I love that panel! I don’t buy panels because the always end up in the ufo bin as I don’t know what to do with them.
2 degrees in Des Moines. I wouldn’t mind that, but my mom is in the hospital, and I have to park so far away. Been there most of the time since Monday – so no sewing for me, just bedside knitting.
Stay warm, and I’m looking forward to $5 Friday!
I love Jean Ruger’s quilt. Would she share the pattern? I’m it is made with a layer cake!
I based it on Gimme Diamonds from Four Paws although I didn’t have the pattern. I cut larger squares at 9.5, small at 4.5 and sashing at 1.5. My finished quilt is 56×70. Look at examples on Pinterest. All color combos look wonderful.
Good morning Mary and friends. Sioux Falls had 12.5” of snow. We had somewhere close to that. There is a lot of white in my vision! It was so pretty yesterday before any was scooped…sparkling white perfection in the sunshine! For some reason when the wind is in the northeast it swirls around and hangs off the gutters on the south side of our house like the Switzerland house pictures. That makes a horrible task for my hubby standing on a ladder with a scoop getting it off the edge of the roof! I don’t even like to look….afraid he’s going to fall!
Hubby feeds the pheasants corn on a few different spots, one being the edge of the road (we have maybe a car go by once a day) so we can see them from the living room. After the plow went by yesterday afternoon the pheasants came and found it back. The ring neck is so beautiful standing in the sun with his red/burgundy breast shining!
On to a different note…the quilts are all amazing! Beautiful! So many quilts!
Well, that is life in Nw Iowa…
Stay safe and sew in
Joy – I loved that you said the snow was so beautiful before it was scooped. I always tell Rick to wait a little bit so I can take pictures before it gets ugly. Right now it’s ugly outside and when it starts melting it will very really really ugly. Our gate gets hung up when the wind is from the northeast and our yard fills up. We prefer northwest wind – haha!
The idea of using panels on outside quilts is so good. I have a screened porch and thought all I could put on it was a “barn quilt”. Maybe I will try a panel.
So sorry about the huge copyright infringement. It just saddens me about people that do this. Where is integrity?
We are getting a bit of snow today. But maple sugaring has started. So our 5th season, Mud, has started.
Beth – since it’s way below zero here this morning, mud season in North Iowa is a ways off – haha! I’d love to know more about maple sugaring.
Gosh, I hate to tell everyone, but yesterday it was 70* here in Central Ohio. It will be 40* today. I thought other quilters used panels for backs, too. I use ones that go with the person. Our son rides his bike in the Cuyahoga metro parks near the national park so I will put the park panel on the back of a flannel for him. I would love for my clothesline to look like the one in the quilt show today. All the quilts are beautiful! Is the BIG N an original pattern? I hope to send two pics today. With trying to do everything while my husband recuperates, I can’t remember if I already sent them. 🙀😹🙀😹. Stay warm and safe everyone up North
Diane – how is your husband doing?
Hi Mary, He is doing pretty well, thanks for checking. He can’t turn his head yet, but did drive 3 minutes to our friend’s house for a beer🍺. He needed a change from me and the cats😺. He has good days and some days with pain, but mostly doing ok. 19’ staples down the back of his neck will come out on Tuesday. No infection which is good.
Diane – he’s got to be on the mend if he went to his friend’s house for a beer!!! That’s great!
Hi Mary!
Wherever did you find that adorable panel?
Linda – I got it at Gruber’s but not recently, sadly. I’ll look to see if I still have the selvage.
Oh my! All those beautiful quilts on the clothesline – someone has been busy! Thanks to all the readers for sharing their quilts.
Mary,
Did you see that a Bullseye quilt won best of show at Quiltcon in Atlanta?
Linda w – no, I didn’t and I just can’t bear to look.
Love to see quilts on a clothesline. I used mine last week to air out a red and cream quilt I folded up and put away for spring ones to come out now. All those quilts and the others are wonderful and it reminds me of Moe’s fall/ Halloween quilts which was inspiring to see too. This blog is so good to keep us on our path of using our fabrics. We had grass here for a long time with unseasonably warm February but a little snow came yesterday so finally some moisture for our grounds. Sun is shining but only 30. Maple syrup is on now as people are advertising homemade bottles of it for sale so the sap must have produced a good running from the trees with the warmer weather. Now comes all the pancake breakfasts fundraisers around to attend.
Kathy – yum! Pancake fundraisers with local maple syrup? Count me in! Yes, I, too, am enjoying all the quilt pictures – very inspiring for me. And just seeing that clothesline and green grass was a breath of fresh air, wasn’t it?
I love the pictures of all the quilts on the clothesline!! Such a fun, colorful display!!
I love your idea of using panels for quilt practice and then using as an outdoor quilt. I may have to do that this summer on my little patio. Also love those quilts hanging on the line. I grew up with a clothesline but don’t have one now. May have to change that! Lovely to see everyone’s quilts.
You’re temps are plummeting and we’re going to hit 90!!!!
Pompano Beach, FL. I HATE IT.
Hi Mary – love your idea of hanging panels outside!! We got about 5” of snow but also got ice before and after the snow. Very slippery!
Rapid City lucked out with the storm forcast. This time we got about 5-6″ of snow, below zero temps and no 50 mph winds. With the wonderful help of neighbors, we got dug out. I haven’t been out of the yard since Monday morning. Old ladies do best staying off the roads and in the house. We really lucked out this time. Outside of town is another story. East of here really got it. My niece who lives in Sioux Falls got rain water in her basement about 2 weeks ago and now they really got heavy snow. It does build character. Haven’t heard much about North Dakota. Maybe they are still all snowed under?
I just love the snow before anybody has messes it up. Looks like a frosted wonderland and everything looks to pretty and full of sparkles. Wonderful fun for the kids. No school days. And the moisture soaks into the ground. Before they built Walmart at the end of our street (then) a rancher had a beautiful pasture on a hill. Come winter, he’d move the cattle to another pasture and everybody could go slide down the hill. I can still hear all the giggles and laughter. And now we have progress?
Just love to see everybody’s quilts and ideas. My Project Warmth quilt for Monday is all pinned and ready to go. After a look at the living room, I decided I should cut up scraps. That pile was getting big. Takes a long time, but makes it easier for the next scrappy project. The Eye Spys give me more ideas. That’s all I need is more ideas!
Smile. Life is good, I think……. Go for it, ladies!
Betty in Rapid City
Betty – I still have your envelope here to show as soon as I get Pet Parade out of the way.
We had freezing rain, sleet and wind. No power for 7 hours. That meant no sewing machine. I did some binding but it got too dark. What a bummer.
About North Dakota—-our daughter lives in southeast ND and they got another 12″ of snow or so. Hard to tell with all the wind. They have had a lot of blizzards/storms this winter. She is very tired of it. She has goats and chickens, and it’s not fun keeping water for them when it’s so cold for so long. They have missed several days of school this winter.
Jeanine – heated buckets are my answer – also heated pet bowls. I am very tired of it, too. And we don’t have near that amount of snow here. Having to wade through deep snow to do chores is very very hard!
They do use them, but they get dirty or tipped over or full of snow. It’s been a constant battle for her all winter. She is suppose to have her first baby goats about March 1. I sure hope the weather moderates so they don’t lose them if they are born at night. The rest of her babies are to come later in March. She had snow drifts as high as her waist from this last snow. After while they don’t know where to put the snow. You have to be rugged to live there! Her husband is a pastor there, so they will probably be there awhile, and they have a nice acreage for her animals. You can’t take the farm out of that girl! She loves it, but does not like the winters there.
Jeanine – will you let us know about the baby goats?
Mary – My daughter usually sends me pictures of the new baby goats so I could send them on to you if you want to see them. They are so cute! I don’t know how many nannies she has this year. I know she got rid of some of them because she had more than she could handle. She milks her goats, so doesn’t want too many to milk.
Jeanine – yes, please!! I’ll never forget having baby goats – they’re cuter than puppies!
Hi Mary! We didn’t get any snow from that huge storm…we got a LOT of rain with spring-style thunderstorms on Wednesday. (Central Indiana). My kids in Indy had rain and 70 degrees, we had rain and 49 degrees. Weird. The fronts from the Gulf of Mexico have been coming way further north this winter and we’ve had very little snow. That huge Pacific storm causing blizzards in California will be here in a couple of days with more heavy rain for us, and nowhere for it to go. My sister in Ann Arbor got freezing rain for about 18 hours Wednesday-Thursday—.55”. She and 64,999 other people in Washtenaw County have no electricity, and there won’t be any until possibly Tuesday. Meanwhile, this next storm is to hit them again. I’m 69 and I can’t remember a winter like this.
Sue – this has been a different winter for all of us. We have missed all the big snows and it never did get to 20 below which is unusual. It remains between zero and 25 mostly. This weekend it’s supposed to rain – ugh – rain on top of snow which means ice. Ice means Rick is housebound. I always feel sorry for anybody who loses power. It’s the worst thing that can happen in my opinion.